Systematic Theology (8 vols.)

After two years, I am now in volume four. One of my pastors went to Dallas Theological Seminary. I wasn't sure why I decided to read Chafer's Systematic Theology as a layman. I teach every Friday morning at the Gospel Rescue Mission, mostly on scientific evidence about creation from a young Earth perspective, so I didn't understand why I should be reading an enormous treatise on theology. My pastor said this set was essentially Chafer's notes. One of the other reviewers noted that this set can be challenging to understand at times and that Chafer's repetition is disturbing. That's true. Sometimes his English vocabulary is dated, which is to be expected since he was born in 1871. I had to download Webster's 1913 dictionary to understand his use of some words because their meanings have changed since then. For example, I was thrown by his use of “obtains”. The 1913 dictionary was helpful, but I ultimately found that the best way to understand his use of the word was to substitute it with “exists”. Some words he used are not in modern dictionaries. Nevertheless, overall, Chafer’s 8-volume theology is astounding. By the end of volume three on soteriology, I found myself loving God more and wanting to share some of what I read with the men at the mission in five-minute bites. I think Chafer’s most interesting comment is that the Scriptures are infinite. At first, I thought that was hyperbolic. After all, there are only 800,000 words in the Bible. However, I own about 4,000 works in my Logos library that I haven’t read, and some seminary libraries have many times more books. The Bible might be compared to something like the image produced in a Mandelbrot Set. The more you drill down into the image, the more that is revealed. There is no end to what can be learned in the Bible. Since God is the ultimate author of the Bible, it should be no surprise that the Word of God is infinite. The Bible teaches us that Jesus loves us. One of my pastors said that God loves us as much as He loves Jesus. In John 17, Yeshua’s prayer confirms this, but so do John 3:16 and Romans 5:8-10. Drill down, baby, drill down. Chafer’s set will set up the necessary scaffold.

After two years, I am now in volume four. One of my pastors went to Dallas Theological Seminary. I wasn't sure why I decided to read Chafer's Systematic Theology as a layman. I teach every Friday morning at the Gospel Rescue Mission, mostly on scientific evidence about creation from a young Earth perspective, so I didn't understand why I should be reading an enormous treatise on theology. My pastor said this set was essentially Chafer's notes. One of the other reviewers noted that this set can be challenging to understand at times and that Chafer's repetition is disturbing. That's true. Sometimes his English vocabulary is dated, which is to be expected since he was born in 1871. I had to download Webster's 1913 dictionary to understand his use of some words because their meanings have changed since then. For example, I was thrown by his use of “obtains”. The 1913 dictionary was helpful, but I ultimately found that the best way to understand his use of the word was to substitute it with “exists”. Some words he used are not in modern dictionaries. Nevertheless, overall, Chafer’s 8-volume theology is astounding. By the end of volume three on soteriology, I found myself loving God more and wanting to share some of what I read with the men at the mission in five-minute bites. I think Chafer’s most interesting comment is that the Scriptures are infinite. At first, I thought that was hyperbolic. After all, there are only 800,000 words in the Bible. However, I own about 4,000 works in my Logos library that I haven’t read, and some seminary libraries have many times more books. The Bible might be compared to something like the image produced in a Mandelbrot Set. The more you drill down into the image, the more that is revealed. There is no end to what can be learned in the Bible. Since God is the ultimate author of the Bible, it should be no surprise that the Word of God is infinite. The Bible teaches us that Jesus loves us. One of my pastors said that God loves us as much as He loves Jesus. In John 17, Yeshua’s prayer confirms this, but so do John 3:16 and Romans 5:8-10. Drill down, baby, drill down. Chafer’s set will set up the necessary scaffold.

A required systematic theology for any serious student of Scripture.

Right on the mark! Dispensational, Premillennial, Evangelical.